2014 mazda mazda3 Model Overview

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Vehicle Overview

One of our favorite compact cars gets a major update this year. The 2014 Mazda3
is all-new, with edgy new styling, a host of infotainment and tech features, and reworked engines. Available as a sedan or a four-door hatchback, the 2014 Mazda3’s base engine is a 2.0-liter I-4 making 155 hp and 150 lb-ft of torque, while the optional engine is a 2.5-liter 184 hp and 185 lb-ft of torque I-4. Both engines are available with a six-speed manual, or a six-speed automatic. The 2014 Mazda3 sedan with the 2.0-liter engine is rated at 29/41 mpg city/highway with the manual and 30/41 mpg with the automatic. Hatchbacks lose 1 mpg on the highway. The 2014 Mazda3 sedan with the 2.5-liter engine is EPA rated at 28/39 mpg, while models equipped with i-ELOOP regenerative braking are rated at 29/40 mpg. Hatchbacks with the larger engine lose 2 mpg highway without i-ELOOP, and just 1 mpg with the new technology. At least for the 2014 model year, the outgoing Mazdaspeed3 hot hatch carries over unchanged from the previous generation, with a 2.3-liter 263-hp turbocharged I-4 under the hood.

The 2014 Mazda3 drives as good as it looks in the real world, with phenomenal steering feel, and smooth engines and transmissions. “In the Angeles Forest above L.A., the top-performing 2.5-liter s GT variant wearing meaty 215/45R18 summer Dunlops turns in crisply and corners hard, and its steering effort builds nicely all the way up, giving some subtle tugs and jiggles as the road surface changes. Oh, and 185 lb-ft produce no trace of torque steer.”

The new 2014 Mazda3 has the same basic engines as before, but features Mazda’s first new six-speed manual in decades, a roomier, more luxurious interior, and edgy styling. The Mazda3’s new infotainment system has a newfound focus on smartphone integration, promising to allow its millennial drivers to always be connected on the go.

New for 2014

The 2014 Mazda3 is new this year, with the exception of the Mazdaspeed3 model. The new Mazda3 hatchback and sedan gets striking new sheet metal similar to its big brother, the Mazda6, which is both longer and wider than before. The new Mazda3 gets carryover “SkyActiv” engines, and a full range of tech, including a new infotainment system, radar cruise control, Smart City Brake Support, and the i-ELOOP capacitive-based regenerative braking system, which helps improve fuel economy.

2014 Mazda Mazda3 Pricing

Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price

$17,995

Certified Pre Owned Pricewhat is this?

$14,325

Certified Pre-Owned Price is the approximate price a consumer can expect to pay at a dealership for a used vehicle that has passed the manufacturer's certification process. This price applies only to vehicles covered under an automaker's CPO program, not to a dealership's own "certified" used price.

Recalls

Once the PCM assumes that the charging system has failed, the vehicle will stop charging and could result in poor acceleration, loss of steering assist and windshield wiper operation, and a possible engine stall, increasing the risk of a crash.

Recall Date

0000-00-00

Description

Mazda North America Operations (Mazda) is recalling certain model year 2014 Mazda3 vehicles manufactured June 12, 2013, through December 18, 2013, and model year 2014-2015 Mazda6 vehicles manufactured May 20, 2013, through December 4, 2013, and both equipped with a 2.5L engine and a regenerative engine braking system. When driving the affected vehicles in heavy rain or in deep puddles, the alternator belt may slip causing the Power Control module (PCM) to incorrectly assume failure of the charging system.

Remedy

Mazda will notify owners, and dealers will reprogram the PCM with updated software, free of charge. The recall began on May 19, 2014. Owners may contact Mazda at 1-800-222-5500. Mazda's number for this recall is 7314D.

2014 Mazda Mazda3 News and Reviews

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A friend of mine owns a similar 2014 Mazda3 S (a gray five-door with the 2.5L) to our long-termer, and he asked me if he made a mistake by not ordering his 2.5L with the i-ELOOP? I hesitated for a moment because I wasn't completely sure if our car had that option. In fact, I debated with him that perhaps…

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The past few months have had me behind the wheel of lots of trucks and SUVs more often than in the Mazda3's driver's seat. Yet the car has not sat idle -- it's been in the diagnostic hands of the rest of the staff, several of whom came back to me with unsolicited and positive first impressions.Associate online editor Carol…